Leadcore has
some very good quality's,but do you make it up
corectly and above all safely.......
Leadcore is as
its name hints a woven membrane outer and a lead wire inner. Its
main uses are to aid sinking the main line and pinning
the last couple of metres of the rig end to the
bottom. It is also stiff due to the inner core wire
and has a good abrasion resistance. It is very strong
with most brands being 35lb - 45lb breaking strain.
It is of the
utmost importance that any items added to the leadcore
above the swivel are easily able to slip over the
connection between main line and the leadcore, if this
is not possible and your main line breaks for some
reason the fish may become tethered and die.
The leadcore
splice works on the Chinese finger trap method where
as the outside is pulled tight it shrinks in size and
traps itself on the inner part of the spice. There
really is no need for glue at all as this could stop
the movement of the outer core which needs to stay
supple to expand and detract as required to cause the
hold.
It is very
important to check the finished leader for breaks in
the inner wire which often worms itself out of the
sides, just pull out a small piece break it off and
push the end back into the hole it has made, if this
is not done it could cause parts of your rig to jam
and impede the lead from discharging in the case of a
break off. You should check this, both splices and the
main line knot before each cast.
I know of only
two ways to make the connection : One is to splice the
leadcore making a small loop at the main line end and
tying a small knot to this with your main line (my preference
is the Polomar knot ).The other is a needle knot where
the mainline is passed through the middle of the
leadcore and out of one of the sides 3 or 4 times then
whipped and threaded back on its self. A small drop of
glue can be added to the end of the leadcore or it can
be lightly singed at with a lighter to stop it fraying
but you should use just enough so not to impede the
lead from discharging in the case of a break.
1. Pull out
around 15cm of core and break it off, turn the
leadcore around to the other end as this will now have
no inner core for the last 15cm, you now have a hollow
end to make the splice.
2. Pick up the
splicing needle and open the gate on the end and push
it back flat with the rest of the shank. Find the
point where the inner core ends and hook the needle
into the outer membrane " this is Point A "
facing towards the tag end at " Point C ".
3. Slowly push
the needle through the middle of the core in the
channel where the inner core would normally be, you
should load at least two thirds of the needle with the
outer membrane then exit the needle at " Point B
". Wiggle the needle to make the hole at " Point
B " slightly bigger.
4. Hook the end
of the needle through the end of the membrane at
" Point C " and close the gate on the end or
the needle. Bunch the membrane on the needle together
and push from " Point A " towards "
Point B ". The end of the needle should slowly be
brought back through the middle of the core with the
tag end to exit at " Point A " . Once the
needle has exited the core at " Point A "
unlock the gate and release the tag end. Slowly pull
the tag end back inside the hole at " Point A
" then grip the core tight at " Point A
" and smooth the spliced join back towards "
Point B ". You should now have a large spiced
loop at this end.
